Cool Rains Don't Dampen Oath

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer announced in his inaugural address Tuesday plans to increase wages at construction projects that benefit from city dollars and a proposal to build more schools in the city's most populated neighborhoods.

In front of a crowd dotted with red-shirt-wearing Gay Days supporters, Dyer took the oath of office on the steps of City Hall, marking the beginning of his first full four-year term.

In a light drizzle that brought welcome relief from the smothering late-afternoon heat, the mayor vowed to continue an effort to rid the Parramore area of drug-dealing and prostitution, improve the city's relationship with the Orange County School Board and support a move to raise money to unclog the county's roadways.

He offered the most details, though, on a proposal to ban undocumented workers from city construction sites and ensure that all workers have gone through proper training and earn wages comparable to the local prevailing rate for each trade.

Dyer said the policy, which will be considered at Monday's City Council meeting, will be modeled after the federal Davis-Bacon Act, which will allow skilled workers to compete against those who will work for less than minimum wage and without health care.

"It is unfair to the undocumented worker who came to this country seeking a better life, but it is even more unfair to the Florida worker who can't compete against wage levels of a Third World country," Dyer said.

If the policy is approved by the council, projects such as 55 West and The Plaza -- new condo and retail complexes offered financial incentives by the city -- likely would be affected.

Dyer also advocated a new proposal to alleviate regional transportation woes, but was short on specifics, saying he wanted the movement to be a grass-roots effort. A plan to generate transportation funding by increasing the sales tax, which was backed by Dyer and Orange County Chairman Rich Crotty, was defeated by voters at the polls last October.

"We must work toward a long-term solution to our transportation problems, and if we face rejection at the ballot box of one idea or another, we need not be afraid to offer alternative solutions until we get it right," Dyer said.

He also offered vague plans to ensure that the city and School Board could work together to make sure growth doesn't overrun classrooms with more students than they can handle. In recent months, Dyer's top staff has urged School Board staff to consider using parks or other public land to build taller schools that would better suit the city's urban neighborhoods, potentially consolidating some of downtown's oldest and most rundown schools into new ones.

School Board officials say the idea is one they have been evaluating on their own and plan to continue talks with city staff.

Though allegations of voter fraud continue to hang over Dyer's election, the mayor said his spirit wasn't dampened.

He called the challenges by his chief opponent, Republican Ken Mulvaney, a waste of taxpayers' money and said he is confident the matter will soon be resolved.

"The outcome, I know what that will be," Dyer said. "It's just a matter of working through the process."

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating whether any criminal wrongdoing took place during the election, including the absentee-voting process.

And while Mulvaney is scheduled to be back in court at the end of the month to pursue a new election, he was nowhere in sight Tuesday.

"That wouldn't be right," Mulvaney said Tuesday afternoon. "I have no place being over there today."

City Commissioners Ernest Page, Patty Sheehan and Betty Wyman -- all also re-elected in March -- joined Dyer in taking the oath of office.

Wyman, the dean of the council, embarked on her fourth consecutive term by pledging support for Dyer and said she would consider his idea to improve construction-worker wages.

"I'm going to take a look at it," said Wyman, who was first elected in 1992.

Page, who took the oath for his third consecutive term, also said the mayor laid out a vision that could benefit all of the city districts.

"That's one of the things I like about him," said Page, one of only two Republicans on a Democratic-dominated council. Dyer, also a Democrat, and the commissioners are elected in nonpartisan races.

Sheehan, the city's first openly gay commissioner, wore a red blazer in support of the Gay Days annual celebration in Orlando as she began her second term.

The event coordinators decided to ask participants to don their signature red shirts at the inauguration ceremony after their original venue fell through. Only a couple dozen stood out in the crowd of more than 300.

"I saw a lot of people in the audience that weren't wearing red shirts, but I know are supporters," Sheehan said.